


Together Again

by MiaGarrett



Category: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-27
Updated: 2012-03-27
Packaged: 2017-11-02 13:57:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/369745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiaGarrett/pseuds/MiaGarrett
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being apart for 2,000 years War and Peace come together again as they are meant to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together Again

The fighting went one for two days. Lightening bolts and crashes of thunder reverberated on Olympus as the Titans fought for dominance.  
  
Zeus, god of thunder, was finally making his play for control of the gods. The rains and earthquakes shook the earth below them. More mortals were suffering every day the war continued.  
  
Since he couldn't kill her outright, and she was the only that might be able to control the conflict, Zeus had somehow managed to imprison her into her temple to stop her from reaching her husband, his brother. Even the link that connected them was muted. She could feel her beloved's presence, but that was it. She was totally barred from her husband, Enualios, the god of war.  
  
Serenity, the goddess of peace, grew restless from sitting and rose from the golden throne that was the focal point of the main hall. When she reached the bottom of the dais, she fell to the floor with a cry. It felt like the other half of her soul had just been ripped away. She reached for the link to her husband and found only emptiness.  
  
Screams echoed through out the Hall of Peace. When they quieted, she realized there were only minutes before Zeus arrived looking for the dual swords.  
  
She looked up and saw that the Sword of War was hovering over her, waiting for her to claim it as one its rightful owners. She stood and took the hilt. Stumbling down the main corridor, into a small room off the main bedchamber, she stopped in front of a cradle.  
  
Lying on the small bed, was a child. A baby really. The eight-month old looked up at his mother and reached for her. Instead of picking him up, as any mother would do, she called her power to her. The Sword of Peace appeared before her. She released the Sword of War and it rose beside the other. They circled in an intricate dance, like to lovers dancing close together, and the two merged into one.  
  
She knew that she was dying, and that she had been since Enualios died only minutes ago. As the goddess of peace, she and the god of war were two beings sharing the same soul. One half of a person, the other side of a coin, if you like. She was the only one that could stay his hand in battle. When his rage went out of control he would only listen to her voice of reason. Without her, chaos reigned and war was unchecked.  
  
She looked down into the cradle and saw him. Her little Galen, a hearty male with his fathers brown hair and eyes; and his mothers pale skin. He exuded a tranquillity that reached into everyone's soul. A child made from Enualios and Serenity. She considered him for a moment, Zeus might see him as a possible threat. There had never been a child born to war and peace. He was the first. She then made one of the hardest decisions there ever was in order to protect her child.  
  
If she had a minute to reflect, she might not have done what she did next as a result of her grief. Serenity called her sword to her. The one sword that hung in the air broke apart and the Sword of Peace came to her. She took the hilt and as her last official act as goddess of peace bequeathed the symbol of her godhood to her son.  
  
She said in a whisper, "I name thee, Galen, god of peace. My successor and heir."  
  
She could hear Zeus in the outer chambers calling for her. "One more thing..." She focused what remained of her energy onto Galen. He glowed and soon there were three boys in the cradle. They shimmered and faded.  
  
Each one appeared to be mortal, but they contained the essence of a full-blooded god buried deep within. The sword in her hand shattered into three pieces. The point, the middle, and the hilt fell to the floor. They also disappeared.  
  
Zeus looked around the main hall expecting her to be on her throne. "SERENITY!" Zeus bellowed. "Come out where ever you are girl! Let's make this easy on yourself."  
  
"No need to bellow, Zeus." A sad voice said behind him. He turned around and saw the woman he was looking for, clutching the Sword of War in her left hand. He could see the slim, red headed woman was struggling to remain upright. The bright glow of her emerald eyes that used to shine with happiness and peace was dimming.  
  
"Give them to me. They are rightfully mine now." Zeus held out his hand.  
  
"You might have won the battle, Zeus. But the war isn't over. It want be for a long time." She needed to stall and let the energy used to send Galen away disparate. Zeus must not find him.  
  
"Give it up woman. Olympus is mine! Cronus and the other Titans are dead; you're dying even as we speak. Your son might soon follow." Zeus gloated.  
  
With a cry of anger, she rushed him with the sword raised to strike.  
  
He raised his arm and threw a bolt of lightening at her. Serenity fell to the floor, the sword beside her.  
  
Zeus reached down and picked it up. He felt the pure energy of war and chaos in the weapon; and soaked in the feeling.  
  
He looked down to find Serenity looking up at him. "Where is the other one?"  
  
"What other one?" She jested, goading him.  
  
"Don't toy with me..." Zeus said and raised his hand again.  
  
"Heed my words Zeus, son of Cronus, the Sword of Peace will never be yours and will not be found on Olympus. It will never join with the Sword of War. War will remain unchecked, and the chaos of anger will remain in the world, until War himself calls for Peace. Not you, but War." She grew weaker and felt the call of death.  
  
Zeus watched as the light finally faded in Serenity eyes and snarled in anger at her words.  
  
As the body of Serenity faded into nothing, he waited for the Sword of Peace to appear. When it didn't come to join with the Sword of War, he blasted the golden throne shattering it into a thousand pieces.  
  
"The child..." Zeus said and walked down the hall into the nursery. He felt traces of power in the air, but didn't see Galen.  
  
"Damn her to Tartarus! What did she do with them?" Zeus began throwing bolts at everything in sight. He almost destroyed the temple looking for the sword and Galen.  
  
When he couldn't find either, he left the hall of peace through a portal at the western in the main chamber. As he crossed the threshold into the hall of war, he felt dizzy. Once he was through the door, he turned around and saw the portal disappear in a bright flash.  
  
He had always been slightly amazed with these halls. It was one of the most unique buildings in the world and on Olympus. They co-existed within one another. Sitting in the same time and space. The two halls were exactly alike, down to the last stone in the foundation and tablet sitting on a table. A portal in the main hall allowed one to enter the other.  
  
He searched the hall of war for hours looking for the Sword of Peace. 'No sign of the sword here either.'  
  
Zeus mumbled, "Peace will not be found on Olympus." When he realized what Serenity had done, he fell to the floor. All traces of Peace had vanished from Olympus. If he focused enough, he could feel the power expanding around Olympus eradicating all knowledge that there had ever been a goddess of peace. Only he would remember the woman that had essentially doomed Olympus. Not even Hades would know of her and she was now in his domain.  
  
No god or goddess would ever be able to walk through the hall of peace again. Or remember what peace felt like. That portion of their existence was gone. The portal to the hall of peace was sealed shut and would remain closed until War opened it. "By calling for Peace to come to him."  
  
He had to find that sword and the new god of peace! He had realized why he couldn't find Galen and why Serenity was weaker at the end then she should have been. She had transferred her godhood to her son.  
  
He sent his supporters looking for the boy in the mortal world. They weren't sure why they were looking for a baby; they didn't remember him or his mother. But they were told to look for a boy less than a year old, a boy that was a god.  
  
In three different homes, they bypassed each child that had Galen's essence.  
  
Months passed, then years. Finally, after five centuries of looking for the sword and the god of peace, Zeus decided to call off the search.  
  
His son Ares had been born. When the Fates decreed that he would be the new god of war, Zeus wept. He had come to know what the world would feel like without peace and felt regret. He could have saved her if he tried. His original plan had been to control the god of war through the sword of peace. However, that was now out of his reach.  
  
His Ares wouldn't know peace: maybe for millennia, maybe ever.  
   
*********************************  
1,473 years later  
  
Ares was lying asleep late one night when a strange dream came to him. In his dream there was a woman that he'd never seen before. At first he thought it was one of those dreams that he could sit back and enjoy.  
  
However, when she looked up at him all he saw were her eyes. They showed great sorrow and she looked back down at something he couldn't see. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see what she was looking at. He felt her sadness grow and finally when it reached deep into Ares himself and he woke up weeping.  
  
The dream continued for four nights and each night he woke up crying for something he couldn't find. Finally late during the fifth day before he retired, he decided to seek out Morpheus. Asking him what the dream could mean.  
  
Ares allowed the god to view the dream as he recalled it. "Ares, this isn't coming from me. There is no signature trace from any god or goddess, either. They are all from your mind."  
  
"But you're the god of dreams and nightmares. This one is rapidly turning into a nightmare. I don't even want to sleep anymore." Ares began pacing the room, becoming depressed at the remembered despair.  
  
"Sorry, Ares. There is nothing I can do. I can't make you stop dreaming. Even gods need dreams to survive." Morpheus said from his chair.  
  
"What can you do then?" Ares demanded.  
  
"Provide a sleeping draught. It'll block dreaming but only for a night or two. You can't risk more than that." Morpheus went to his worktable and began mixing the right ingredients.  
  
"I'll take it! Anything to stop seeing that woman and her infernal green eyes." Ares stood beside Morpheus waiting impatiently for him to finish.  
  
As soon as Morpheus put the stopper on the bottom Ares grabbed it. He opened the bottle and took a large swallow.  
  
"Careful Ares! Not to much." Morpheus warned.  
  
Ares paused, looked over the bottle at Morpheus, and took another drank.  
  
"Catch you later." Ares mumbled as he winked out.  
  
He was overcome by tiredness when Ares reached the hall of war. 'Better get to bed. Finally, a night of sleep!'  
  
Ares woke up five hours later with a roar and threw a fireball toward one wall. The sleeping draught hadn't worked! The dream still came. Only this time Ares could see his sword hovering beside her. 'Why was my sword there?'  
  
This continued for weeks but the dream didn't progress any. The woman, the sword, and whatever damn thing she was looking at.  
  
His rage continued to build at the loss of control and chaos increased on the earth. The wars that were unleashed were the most violent, bloody battles seen in decades, maybe ever.  
  
Zeus was growing increasingly concerned and sought out Ares. The other gods, who had always been restless, were growing very edgy. He knew that the source of the unrest came from his son. Ares was unaware that he was transferring his emotions onto the others.  
  
He found his son sitting on his throne where he hadn't moved for days. The sight of Ares shook him to the core. Ares looked bad, real bad. The war god hadn't bathed in days, his clothes were stained with drank and food he managed to eat, and his eyes bloodshot.  
  
Ares couldn't remember the last time he had been able to sleep. He kept seeing the sad green eyes, even when he was awake now.  
  
"Ares." Zeus approached his son.  
  
"Dad." Ares mumbled.  
  
"Ares, this can't go on. You have to do something." Zeus said. "You're destroying the gods and Olympus."  
  
"Don't you think I've tried! Morpheus and Asclepius can't find anything wrong. I've tried potion after potion, nothing works!" Ares grew angry and more chaos reigned on the earth.  
  
"This fucking dream want go away." Ares whispered.  
  
Zeus looked into Ares eyes and saw great sorrow. "Dream? I hadn't heard about any dreams. Tell me."  
  
Ares described the dream and when he mentioned the green eyes, Zeus stopped him. "The woman, what did she look like?"  
  
"I told you! She had green eyes." Ares looked at him.  
  
"The rest of her blast it! What did the rest of her look like?" Zeus grew impatient, if it was who he thought it was he'd hunt her down in the lower regions of Tartarus and... He left the threat unfinished; after all what could he really do to her.  
  
Ares remembered the dream. He never noticed what the woman had looked like before, he only noticed the eyes. "She had red hair and pale skin. Her dress was light green with a white  
trim."  
  
Zeus looked at his son, "Serenity! It is her! That's the dress she wore when she died."  
  
Ares looked up with a hopeful look in his eyes, "Serenity? She's real? You know her? Who is she, where can I find her?"  
  
"She's no one now Ares. She's been dead for almost two millennia. She can't help you." Zeus told him and sat down in the chair he called.  
  
"No one? Well this 'no one' has been tormenting me for weeks on end. No peace, no quite, no rest, anything! Now tell me who she is!" Ares demanded. He got up from his throne and started pacing the floor.  
  
"Ares, you have to trust me! She can't help you. She's dead. The dead can't help the living." Zeus tried to calm his son down. 'Especially a dead goddess no one remembers, even Hades.'  
  
"Hades! Ask him to get her! If you ask, he'll do it!" Ares was getting irrational now. He never wanted to ask Hades for anything.  
  
Ares continued to rant and rave. He finally looked at his father and said. "Why can't I find peace? That's all I want. That's not much to ask for dammit! I WANT PEACE!" Ares screamed the last three words at him.  
  
When the echoes subsided, Zeus looked away and thought, 'He did it. He actually said it. He called for Peace. Maybe not how Serenity meant it but he said the words.'  
  
Zeus heard a crash behind him and turned around. Ares had collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.  
  
Zeus rushed toward him, knelt down, touched him and let out a sigh of relief. "He's alive!"  
  
The god of healing arrived as soon as Zeus and Ares arrived in Ares bedroom.  
  
"What happened? I felt Ares collapse." Asclepius asked as he bent over his patient, examining him. He'd been keeping an eye on Ares lately because of his erratic mood swings.  
  
"There seemed to be a breaking point. He was getting uncontrollable and then..." Zeus looked down at his son. Wondering what was going to happen next. He half expected a grown up Galen to appear in the room.  
  
"Well, he's asleep now and it looks like he'll be asleep for a while. Give him food and water when he wakes up and he'll be okay." He told Zeus.  
  
"What about?" Zeus said pointing to his head.  
  
"That? We'll have to see." He left.  
  
Ares woke up two days later from a sound sleep. Beside from being very hungry and thirsty, he acted like the past six weeks hadn't happened.  
  
   
Seven weeks earlier...  
  
Three mortals that had inherited Galen's essence had passed away within minutes of each other. The timing had never been right before but after wandering the earth for almost 1,500 years the essences that made up Galen were finally together and waiting to be re-born at the same time.  
  
A small crack, only a micrometer wide, formed in the portal that opened to the hall of peace. When the crack appeared, a memory escaped with it and sought the one who could understand.  
   
  
Nine months later...  
  
With a whack to his rear by the midwife, the third male child born that day screamed his hello into the world.  
  
It was during the spring equinox that the three identical boys were born into a warlord's house. A long lineage of warlord's blood flowed through their veins. Their father's family had been warlords for centuries, their mother's father's family had been warlords even longer.  
  
When the boys were five, their father had took them to Sparta and dedicated them to Ares, the god of war. The war god had decided to attend the dedication ceremony. It wasn't often that three identical triplets where promised to him.  
  
He looked at each boy. There was something about them that disturbed him, but not in a way he could describe. Each looked up at where he was standing even though he was invisible. It had started with the youngest. He had nudged the one standing next to him and pointed. He looked up, narrowed his eyes, and poked the next boy. He also looked toward Ares.  
  
'It's almost like they can see me.' He checked his shielding, 'Yep, still there.'  
  
Ares continued to watch them. The look in their eyes were different too. Jayce exuded a worldliness about him, as if he's seen everything to see. Jett exuded a ruthlessness. Joxer exuded an innocence and wisdom beyond his years.  
  
'I should keep an eye on these three.' Ares told himself. As the ceremony concluded Ares showed his acceptance by flaming the torches higher.  
  
Each started their training at age seven. However everyone soon noticed that they weren't exactly your normal warlord's offspring.  
  
The firstborn preferred to stay with his mother and work in the house and gardens. The second born son had cruel streak a mile wide. Warriors could be cruel, but normal warriors were not sadistically cruel. The last born child had a gentleness in him. He was also clumsy and awkward. He preferred talking his way out of fights. But to each other, they were totally devoted.  
  
Joxer and Jett, aged 10, ran through the forest chasing one another early one summer morning. Their brother Jayce had fallen into a sickness three days before and the fever hadn't cooled down any. He wasn't expected to survive the day.  
  
They collapsed onto one another inside a cave.  
  
"I'm worried Jett. What's going to happen to Jayce?" Joxer asked his older brother.  
  
"Don't worry, Jox. If he dies, I'll take care of you." Jett didn't allow anyone to pick on his brothers. He liked reserving that pleasure for himself, not that he would every seriously hurt them.  
  
"But..." Joxer began.  
  
"Shut up!" Jett pushed him away.  
  
Joxer remained silent for several seconds, "But Jett!" He didn't complete the sentence.  
  
Suddenly, both boys screamed and soon both were unconscious on the ground. While they were out, a light blue haze settled over them, absorbing into their skin. And on Olympus, the crack in the portal widened, but still unnoticeable.  
  
The boys woke hour's later, cold and shivering. "What happened?" Joxer looked at his brother.  
  
"I don't know. We'd better get home." Jett got up.  
  
Joxer paused at the entrance of the cave. He noticed a light coming from deeper within. He touched Jett's arm, "Look down there." Pointing toward the light.  
  
Jett looked down the cave. "I don't see anything."  
  
"It's there. Let's go see." Joxer started pulling on his arm.  
  
Jett pulled free. "You go, I'm going home, I'm hungry." With that he turned and walked out of the cave.  
  
Joxer watched his brother leave and turned toward the light that was fading. He hurried up to it before it could disappear completely. He found a piece of metal about 8 inches long in the dirt.  
  
He picked it up, "Looks like a piece of sword." He looked around for the other piece. "Don't see the rest." He was getting ready to toss it back, when he felt a compulsion to keep the piece of metal. He quickly pocketed it and ran to catch up with his brother.  
  
When they got back home, their mother rushed out frantic and crying. "Jett! Joxer! I've been looking for you! Don't ever do this again." She hugged both to her breast, almost crushing them, crying.  
  
"Mom! What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Joxer asked her. Jett was trying to push away.  
  
"Let me go! I'm starving!" Jett was telling her. He wanted to go in the house for supper.  
  
"No. Don't go in there." She cried even harder.  
  
Tristen had been watching his wife and other two sons from the doorway. He nodded to Persus, one of his warriors, to cancel the search party. The boys had returned.  
  
"Oprah, let them go." Tristen began.  
  
"NO! I'm not having them in there!" Oprah told him.  
  
"Yes, they need to." He pulled her from the boys and told them. "Go see your brother."  
  
Joxer and Jett looked at each other, and then back to their parents. "What's wrong?" Jett asked.  
  
"Just go." Tristen was holding his wife to him, muffling her crying.  
  
Jett and Joxer turned and ran toward their rooms. They stopped at the door.  
  
Jayce was lying on the bed. Someone had covered his face with a blanket. Joxer walked up to him and pulled the blanket back saying. "He can't breath that way."  
  
Jett looked into the face of his older brother. It was cold and lifeless, coins covered his eyes. "He's dead."  
  
Joxer looked back at Jett. "No he's not. He's just asleep. See." He reached out and tried to wake Jayce up.  
  
Nothing happened. Joxer then felt the cold skin under his fingers. "No, oh no." He started shaking the body. "Jayce wake up. You've got to wake up!"  
  
Jett went to Joxer and pulled him away. "Don't be a baby. He's dead. D-E-A-D, dead. He's not coming back."  
  
"No, he's just asleep. That's all..." Joxer began.  
  
"Dead. Say it Joxer. 'Jayce is dead.'" Jett told him.  
  
Joxer was crying by that time, mumbling "No, no, no..."  
  
"SAY IT!" Jett screamed at him.  
  
"Jayce is dead." Joxer looked up at his brother's cold face.  
  
Things changed in the warlord's household after that day. Jett became even more cruel and sadistic. Joxer became even more clumsier, stumbling around, tripping over his own feet.  
  
Their mother died when they were 13 years old. She was buried next to Jayce. Their father was killed in battle at 15. Jett and Joxer decided it was time to leave home then. No one else was there, their father's warriors had left after Tristen's death. Jett himself started disappearing for month or so at a time over a year ago. No one knew what he was doing.  
  
They divided up what gold and goods they had between them. Joxer hid his deep within the cave he found the sword point in.  
  
'Might come in handy someday.' He took a few coins, his pack, and sword point he found at ten, and set out on his own. The piece of broken sword had become a talisman of sorts for him. He never showed it to Jett, it was his alone.  
  
Ares had almost forgotten about the triplet sons of Tristen. Oh, he knew that one of them had died. Hades had questioned everyone on Olympus about the boy's soul since it never showed up in the Elysian fields as scheduled. Matter of fact, no one knew where it went.  
  
Hades finally gave up looking, "A wandering soul. It's bound to turn up sooner or later."  
  
It was one-day years later, during a battle, when he noticed a young man about 19 fighting with a much older, seasoned warrior and losing badly. The young one had suffered cuts on his arm and legs. He looked closer at the young man and realized that it was one of the triplets.  
  
"Joxer. That's got to be Joxer." He said aloud. Jett had come to his attention a couple of years ago as a skilled assassin. He sometimes pulled jobs for Strife and Discord.  
  
'Passable sword work. But not good enough.' He told himself. He was getting ready to leave the field because the war was winding down, when he turned back toward him. With a little help from Ares, Joxer quickly dispatched his opponent.  
  
'He shouldn't be here. He'll only get himself killed.' Ares thought. He didn't know why, but Ares felt that he had to watch over the boy.  
  
The next two years Ares found himself watching Joxer often. Every now and then, he noticed that Joxer looked around as if trying to find the person watching him. Ares had always limited himself to a scrying mirror. However, one day he was in his main temple listening to petitions and requests, when he saw Joxer enter through the front door.  
  
He had remained invisible to the others, but Joxer looked right at him. He saw the awareness in Joxer's eye and caught his thoughts, 'Ares? He's the one watching me all the time? Why?'  
  
Ares decided to wait for the day to be over before he went to find Joxer. When the sun started to go down and the audience was over, he didn't have far to go. Joxer was in a small cove, a half-mile away.  
  
He was fishing with his back to Ares when he said, "I wondered when you'd get here."  
  
"How did you know I've been watching you?" Ares questioned his least skilled warrior.  
  
"You know that feeling you get in the back of your neck sometimes. Well, I get it a lot." Joxer grinned as he stood up clutching his catch.  
  
"Hungry?" Joxer asked his god, holding up the fish.  
  
Ares shrugged his shoulders, "Sure why not. Nothing else better to do."  
  
Even that little tidbit seemed to please the young warrior. He carried his fish over to his pallet and fire.  
  
Ares was silent as he watched Joxer clean the fish. Every now and then, Joxer would look up and catch Ares gaze.  
  
He knew he might be struck down but he had to ask, "Why've you been watching me?"  
  
'Why indeed?' Ares asked himself. "Do you remember the day your father dedicated your lives into my service?"  
  
"Vaguely. We were only five." Joxer replied.  
  
"All three of you kept staring at me." Ares told him.  
  
"That's it? We stared at you, so you've been watching me for the past two years?" Joxer asked as he put the fish over the fire.  
  
"I was invisible Joxer. No one else could see me. First you noticed me, then you pointed me out to Jett. Who showed Jayce. You all stared at me during the entire ceremony." Ares pulled up a tree stump and sat down.  
  
"How?" Joxer looked away. He remembered seeing Ares there.  
  
"No clue. At first I thought you all had the sight or something. But the oracle said no." Ares summoned a tray of fresh fruit, cheese and wine to go with the fish. He picked up a fig and bit into it. The juice ran down his chin.  
  
Joxer was watching one drop as it rolled down Ares neck and soaked into his leather. He wanted to follow the drop with his tongue.  
  
Ares was unaware of Joxer's thoughts as he picked up another piece of fruit, "You know you're more than welcome to some." Ares pointed toward the tray.  
  
"Oh, thanks." Joxer reached over for a peach.  
  
They were silent for several minutes as they ate pieces of fruit. To break the silence they started talking about other things. Joxer talked about the battles he had been in and Ares mentioned current wars he was working on.  
  
Finally the fish was done and Joxer pulled it from the fire. "Go ahead. Take what you want."

 

Ares took a large trout on a platter, picked up some more fruit and cheese. 'This needs bread.' And a large loaf appeared.  
  
"Thanks. I was thinking the same thing." Joxer smiled at him. He took the other trout and some of the other food.  
  
"You know. This is good. Much better than eating alone." Joxer told him.  
  
"You're right there too. I often eat alone in the hall of war." Ares replied.  
  
"What's it like?" Joxer asked.  
  
"What's 'what' like? The hall of war?" Ares looked up from his plate. He thought for a second. "It's like any other place really. A large temple, corridors, rooms, bedrooms, an armory, kitchens, bathing rooms, and another armory. Only it's on Olympus."  
  
"Sounds big. Much bigger than anything I've ever been in." Joxer thought how that sounded, "and no. I'm not asking for an invitation."  
  
"Didn't think you were." Ares grinned at him. Ares was relaxed, he hadn't felt this comfortable around anyone in a long time.  
  
When they finished, Joxer took the plates down to the creek to clean. Ares offered to clean them but Joxer said, "No. I need to do it myself. I can't start depending on you to do stuff for me."  
  
Ares looked thoughtfully at him. With a quite good night, he left.  
  
This unusual relationship lasted as it was for four years. Joxer didn't think it was that unusual for the god of war to suddenly pop up where ever he was.  
  
Joxer never asked for anything, and Ares never offered. Joxer would go for weeks, sometimes months without seeing the war god. Sometimes he'd see the god three, four times a week. It depended on what was going on.  
  
Ares would bounce ideas off of him, sometimes just to hear them aloud. Joxer knew when to be quite and listen. If Ares wanted something, he'd ask.  
  
A year after Joxer met Xena and Gabrielle the trio were sitting around the campfire taking a days rest from travel. Joxer pulled out the sword point and a polishing cloth and settled into the rhythmic, soothing motions of cleaning it.  
  
Xena who had been cleaning her sword, looked over at him and finally asked after months of wondering what it was he was doing, "Joxer, I've seen you to that often. What in Tartarus are you cleaning?"  
  
Joxer looked down into the cloth and frowned. "It's something I found as a boy. I like it."  
  
"Can I see?" Gabrielle asked him. She didn't like secrets if she wasn't keeping them.  
  
Joxer was uncertain if he wanted Gabby to see it. Seeing the hesitation, Gabby grabbed the cloth and opened it.  
  
"Hey! Give that back." Joxer demanded, getting up and going over to her.  
  
She turned around with her back toward him saying, "I don't get it. It's just a piece of broken sword. Only you, Joxer, would carry a piece of broken metal." Gabrielle showed it to Xena.  
  
"Gabrielle." Joxer growled at her.  
  
Startled, Gabrielle looked up into his face. She'd never seen anger in his eyes before and she found that she didn't like him to be angry with her.  
  
Xena was also concerned when she heard Joxer's voice. She said, "Gabby, give it back to him."  
  
"But Xena. It's only a piece of metal." Gabby told her.  
  
"Gabrielle, give it back. NOW!" Joxer said. It wasn't a request, it was more of a demand.  
  
Reluctantly, she gave it back to him. "It's only junk." She mumbled to herself  
  
"It might be junk to you, but it means a lot to me." Joxer told her as he sat back down. Picking up the cloth, he began polishing her fingerprints from it.  
  
Xena looked at both of them. She turned to Joxer and asked, "Joxer, may I please see it?"  
  
Joxer looked at her for a moment, and finding sincerity in her face, he handed it to her.  
  
Xena examined the metal carefully. "Joxer, where did you get this?" Noticing the detail around the edges was finely carved into the blade. It gleamed brightly in the firelight.  
  
"I found it when I was ten. My brothers and I often played in a cave not far from our house. One day, when Jayce was sick, Jett and I went to the cave. While where were there something happened. When we woke up, I noticed it on the ground." Joxer paused.  
  
"And?" Gabby prompted. She'd been listening.  
  
Joxer threw her a look of disgust and turned to Xena. "When we returned home, we found out that Jayce, our other brother, had died from a fever. I've kept it ever since. It reminds me of him for some reason."  
  
Gabby looked remorseful. "I'm sorry for teasing you Joxer. I didn't know."  
  
Joxer just looked back at her. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, it was one of the few times his face closed up.  
  
She looked down into the fire.  
  
Xena was still examining the piece when she said. The break looked unnatural. Not cut as if another sword had damaged it. "You know Joxer. This seems to be very valuable. It almost looks like some of Hephetesus work. But it was forged differently and looks older. You said you found it in a cave?"  
  
"Yes. Can I have it back now?" He asked, he was getting anxious. He didn't like to have it out of his possession for long. Not even Ares knew about it. He felt it was important that it be kept a secret.  
  
He knew that Ares sometimes read his thoughts. So when ever he felt Ares, he unconsciously pushed the sword piece back in his mind and hid it behind a wall. Both Ares and Joxer didn't know how unusual it was that a mere mortal could partition his mind.  
  
"The engraving looks ancient Greek." Xena said as she gave it back to him. "You should look into its history. Maybe have Hephetesus himself look at it if you ever get a chance."  
  
"I don't care where it came from." Joxer quickly put the piece in its hiding spot.  
  
He was much more comfortable now that it was put away. He looked up at the stars and decided it was time to sleep. "Good night Xena, Gabby. I'm going to sleep. Need a goods nights rest, travel will be hard tomorrow. See ya tomorrow."  
  
Two hours before dawn, Joxer woke up and looked around the camp. He didn't know why it bothered him that he showed Xena the sword piece, but he felt strongly that it was time to leave.  
  
Joxer had caught up with Xena and Gabrielle again during the fall. They had been traveling for four days, when Hercules and Iolaus joined them.  
  
Joxer was missing Ares. It had been months since he had last seen the war god alone. Oh, he showed up to tease and torment Hercules and Xena. However, Joxer knew that when he was around these four Ares didn't appear to him. If he did show up, he didn't acknowledge Joxer at all. The first time it happened had hurt a lot, but he soon realized it wasn't to hurt him. Ares didn't want to damage his shaky friendship with the warrior princess and amazon bard.  
  
The five were sitting around the campfire after dinner talking about things in general when Gabrielle first commented on it. "Ya know, Xena, I've been noticing something. How many times do we see Ares when it's just the two of us?"  
  
Xena paused in polishing her sword, "Not often. The last time when it was just us, he didn't show up at all."  
  
The question had intrigued Iolaus and Hercules also, "Same here. We hardly ever see him. We see plenty of his goons though."  
  
"How many times have we seen him in the past four weeks?" Gabby asked, looking around the camp.  
  
"Ten." Xena sheathed her sword, and pulled out her chakrum. "You're right. That is unusual."  
  
Hercules whistled. "What changed four weeks ago?"  
  
Joxer had been sitting away from the others, polishing the sword point. He tried to ignore what the others were talking about. 'Shit!'  
  
Gabby looked at Joxer. "Joxer was the only thing."  
  
All four turned toward the warrior. He didn't look up, but he felt their eyes on him.  
  
Finally Xena said, "Joxer? Look at us."  
  
Joxer lifted his head, but increased the pressure on the polishing rag.  
  
"Yeah Xena?" He asked.  
  
"When you're not with us, how many times do you see Ares?" the warrior princess wanted to know.  
  
"In person or from a distance?" He clarified the question.  
  
"Lets say 'both'." Hercules replied for her.  
  
Joxer didn't like where this was going, but Ares had never told him not to mention it to anyone. No one had ever asked these questions before.  
  
"Well, when I decide to join a fight. I see him directing and fighting in it." Joxer said.  
  
Gabrielle snorted at the thought of Joxer fighting.  
  
"Go on." Iolaus prompted.  
  
"How many times Joxer? Just answer the question." Xena knew something was up.  
  
"Sometimes I don't see him for months. Especially when there is a war somewhere. However, an average of three times a week." Joxer calculated.  
  
"Three times a week!" Hercules said in astonishment. "For how long?"  
  
"Since I was 19." Joxer mumbled. He put the sword point away.  
  
The four heroes were silent as they absorbed the information.  
  
Iolaus spoke first, "Three times a week for seven years."  
  
Xena shook her head at Joxer. "Joxer. Why didn't you tell us?"  
  
"Why should I? It has nothing to do with you." Joxer grew belligerent.  
  
"Joxer in all the times you've met Ares, how many times did you talk about us? About what we did? What our plans were?" Xena stood over the young man.  
  
Joxer stood up and faced her. "What makes you think we talk about you? What makes you think we talk at all?" Xena was threatening his friendship with the war god and he didn't like it.  
  
Gabrielle stood beside her friend. "What else would you be doing?"  
  
The other four just looked at her, "Oh, never mind." She looked down to the ground and shivered at the pictures that went through her mind. Ares and Joxer having sex? 'Yewwww!'  
  
"Well we haven't been doing that, that's for sure." Joxer told them. He'd give anything to do that with Ares.  
  
"Sometimes I don't talk. I listen. Sometimes he listens as I talk. Sometimes we don't even talk at all, just eat together. What's wrong with that?" Joxer walked around the log he'd been sitting on.  
  
"Joxer, normal people don't see Ares, or talk to him, or even eat with him. He want's something from you. It's not natural." Hercules tried explaining it to him.  
  
"So. All he has to do is ask and I would give it to him. He knows that so he doesn't ask!" Joxer was getting upset with his 'friends.'  
  
"Joxer, it's dangerous to gain the attention of the gods like this." Xena said. She knew from personal experience.  
  
"So what do you want me to do? Choose between him and you?" Joxer asked.  
  
"I'd hate for it to come to that, Joxer. But if it comes down to it, yes." Xena told him.  
  
The next day, when the four woke up, Joxer was gone. He packs and everything he had carried with him had disappeared sometime during the night.  
  
Gabrielle looked at the spot where Joxer had been and turned toward Xena. "Looks like he made his choice."  
  
"But was it the wrong one?" Hercules said.  
  
Xena shook her head and said, "Time will tell."  
  
The previous night on Olympus Ares had watched the scene between Joxer and the others. He wanted nothing more then to go down there and take Joxer away. However, he knew that Joxer had to make the choice himself. It was his decision to make.  
  
He had continued to watch throughout the night. It was past midnight when he saw that Joxer was awake.  
  
He watched him sit up and quietly re-pack his few belongings. He stared at the forms of Xena and Gabrielle and whispered, "No one makes me choose between Ares and them. They'd lose."  
  
He stood up and walked away into the night. Without disturbing the others.  
  
Ares was dumbfounded and a big silly grin crossed his face. 'Joxer choose me! Me, Ares!' He knew Joxer liked him. Even considered him a friend. He also considered Joxer a friend, well even more than a friend, though he never told him.  
  
Ares finally went to bed. 'I'll go see him tomorrow.'  
  
However, it didn't happen. When Ares woke up he was summoned to his father's study. A major war was needed to cull some of the population and Ares had to spend the next week planning out was needed.  
  
During the week it took Ares to finally get to see Joxer, Joxer had traveled far. He stayed away from towns and the main roads.  
  
He knew the decision he had made was the right one, but he couldn't see how Xena and Gabby could make him choose. Ares was his friend. Xena and Gabby were his friends. He even considered Hercules and Iolaus to be his friends. But they all made him choose between them and Ares.  
  
"Don't worry so much about it Joxer. They'll come around one day." A voice said behind him. Ares stepped into the firelight and sat down next to him.  
  
"I've been wondering when you'd show up. I felt you watching." Joxer looked up at him.  
  
"I meant to see you the day after, but Dad called me. The harvest is going to be bad next year and this winter will be harsh." Ares told him.  
  
"War?" Joxer asked him. "Do you want me to help? Which side?"  
  
"A big one and stay out of it!" Ares looked at the fire and back at Joxer. "Thank you."  
  
Joxer turned back toward him, their faces where close together. "For what?"  
  
"Choosing me." Ares whispered.  
  
"It wasn't a choice. You've always been there, you don't belittle me like Gabby sometimes does, I mean did. You work with me on my sword work, Xena never offered. Except for that one time, where I accidentally cut her." Joxer said.  
  
"Well, thanks anyway. No one's ever choose me over someone else." Ares told him.  
  
"I find that hard to believe. There is no one else I'd choose. Even Jett would come in second." Joxer replied.  
  
The corner of Ares mouth turned up. "Jett, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, Jett." Joxer said. "I love my brother and everything, but you're first."  
  
Joxer and Ares stared into one another's eyes. Joxer just smiled at him. "You know I would do anything for you right? You don't even have to ask."  
  
Ares' eyebrows rose, "I know. That's why I don't ask."  
  
"Just so we are clear." Joxer whispered.  
  
"We're clear." Ares whispered back. Their faces were only inches apart. Ares closed the distance and kissed Joxer.  
  
At first the kiss was small. When he saw that Joxer hadn't rejected it or him, he deepened it.  
  
After a few minutes, Ares pulled away fighting for breath. Joxer fell onto him, trying to close the distance again.  
  
"Let's get out of here." Ares recommended.  
  
"Sure, anywhere." Joxer looked dazed.  
  
Ares decided to go to the hall of war on Olympus. However, he didn't tell Joxer that. 'Save that for later.'  
  
Ares gathered Joxer against his chest, and with a pulse of light they arrived in a large room. Joxer looked around and spotted Ares throne. "Are we in your home?"  
  
"Yes. Is it okay?" Ares asked, releasing Joxer.  
  
Joxer turned around looking at the main hall. He froze when he faced the eastern wall. Something there bothered him, but he decided to ignore it for now.  
  
"It's big." Joxer told his soon to be lover.  
  
"How about a soak?" Ares led him into the bathroom off of the main bedroom.  
  
"I could use one. Haven't had a real bath in weeks." Joxer felt very nervous. 'Maybe it'll relax me some.'  
  
While he wasn't a virgin with women or men, he lost his sexual innocence long ago, but this was the first time he'd ever been with Ares. He didn't want to disappoint him any. He loved him too much.  
  
The large black marble tub was always full with bubbling, hot water. Ares added some drops of oil and laid out several large towels next to the fire in the room to warm.  
  
He went to stand before Joxer. "If you don't want to, you can leave. I want ever say anything."  
  
Joxer looked deep into Ares eyes and saw the truth. "I want to. It's all I could ever think about most of the time." He grinned up at Ares.  
  
Ares relaxed and threw back his head. When he looked back down, Joxer saw the fire of passion in his dark eyes.  
  
'Oh gods. Do I ever!' Joxer thought to himself. He reached toward Ares, taking the first step, and touched his biceps. He ran his hands down Ares arms and examined the fingers.  
  
When he was done, he didn't want to leave Ares warm skin, so he moved his hands back up and onto Ares chest. The black studded leather was warm for his body temperature. Joxer caressed the edges where skin and leather met.  
  
Ares bit back a moan. He took Joxer's hands and pulled them around him. Trapping them behind Ares back. He lowered his head and kissed him.  
  
He first nipped at Joxer's lips, seeking permission to enter. Joxer opened his mouth and Ares' tongue plunged him. Both tongues battled for dominance.  
  
Minutes later Ares raised his head and Joxer's fell forward onto Ares shoulder.  
  
"Let's get in." Ares said in a husky voice.  
  
Joxer nodded his head. Looked up and stepped back.  
  
Ares watched as Joxer undressed. When he was standing naked before the god, Ares took a long, hard look. What he saw pleased him a lot. He took a large gulp, trying to swallow. He felt his heart rate increase.  
  
If anyone looked at Joxer when he was dressed, they saw a thin and very angular man. But unclothed, you couldn't help but notice the muscles he kept hidden. Joxer had actually gained a lot of weight since Ares had first met him.  
  
The soft alabaster skin gleamed in the candles and fire. Joxer's penis was hard, pulsing up against his stomach. Ares could tell that Joxer was having trouble catching his breath. Ares decided that instead of wishing his clothes away, he'd take them off slowly, teasingly. He looked into Joxer's face, and with a small devilish smile, started unclasping his vest. One clasp, one tie at a time.  
  
Joxer closed his eyes when he saw what Ares was doing. He forced them back open.  
  
Ares had paused, waiting for Joxer to open his eyes. When he saw that he had his attention again, he continued. He shrugged off the vest, letting it hit the ground.  
  
His hands reached down and touched the ties that held his leather pants together. He took the easy way out and winked the boots off earlier. When he pulled the string to release the crotch, the pressure that had increased inside his pants kept it from opening further.  
  
Ares frowned and looked down. A soft giggle was heard from Joxer. Ares pulled the string from the eyelets and gently eased the tight leather down his legs and off his feet.  
  
He stood before Joxer naked as the day he was born.  
  
Joxer gasped when he saw Ares. That beautiful, strong, hard, body looked like it was make from the finest steel. The hard angles and the long lines of a finely sculptured physique was the result of a lot of hard work.  
  
Ares nodded toward the tub. Joxer looked over and walked toward the steps.  
  
Ares watched the muscles play across Joxer's legs and buttocks. With an impatient snort he followed him to the tub.  
  
Joxer watched as Ares entered the hot water. They sat facing each other, not saying a word. Ares grabbed two sponges and loaded them up with soap. He put one in Joxer's hand and he took the other.  
  
Without breaking eye contact, each proceeded to wash the other. After they had soaped each other. They dropped the sponges back into the water. It was time to play.  
  
Both were very hard by then. In between the soaping, they touched each other trying to find their pleasure points.  
  
Joxer moved closer to Ares. He couldn't get close enough so he draped his legs around Ares to where their cocks touched each other. Both gasped at the unexpected touch.  
  
Cupping their hands they rinsed the soap off each other's bodies. Hot kisses and caresses were in order. The kisses and caresses grew in intensity. Both were moaning very loudly by then. Ares was running his hands down Joxer's back. He finally grabbed Joxer's checks and kneed them. He ran his fingers down the cleft, circling a finger around the dark hole.  
  
Joxer tried pushing back onto the finger with little success. "Ares!" Joxer demanded.  
  
"Not here. Let's move this to the bed." Ares nodded toward the door.  
  
However, Joxer didn't want to leave Ares' arms and said. "Take us there, please?"  
  
Ares pulled Joxer closer to him, and with his power, transported them to his bed.  
  
Joxer arrived under Ares. Their legs were twisted around each other's. Joxer felt the weight on top of him, and he reached up, and pulled Ares head down toward him.  
  
They kissed wildly. Joxer's allowed his hands to roam as far as they could. He finally moved his hands down toward Ares front. His long fingers closed around the cock he wanted in him so badly.  
  
Ares wanted to worship the body under his. He released the tantalizing mouth and started tracing a path down Joxer's body. He licked, nipped, and kissed every inch of skin.  
  
When Ares moved out of reach, Joxer lost his grip on Ares cock. He let out a gasp of disappointment.  
  
Ares looked up at the sound and found Joxer's eyes, the pleading look in them sent a stab through his heart. "Later Joxer you can play all you want to." He promised.  
  
Joxer, taking him at his word, relaxed back into the soft mattress and concentrated the attention Ares was paying him.  
  
When Ares saw that Joxer was relaxed, he continued down to his goal. His tongue circled Joxer's navel, dipped into it and backed out quickly. He mimicked the motions that were soon to come.  
  
By this time, Joxer was moaning continuously. His hands had made their way to Ares head and his fingers wove their way into his hair.  
  
Joxer started pushing Ares down further, directing him to where he wanted to go.  
  
Ares couldn't wait any longer. He had to taste Joxer now. Ares took Joxer's cock in one hand and the length in motion, closing his lips around it. Joxer screamed and arched up. Pressing Ares' head down further.  
  
'Sweet!' Ares thought to himself. His tongue laved the juices there were coming from the slit. Ares closed his lips around Joxer and sucked upwards to where his lips were around the head. His teeth and tongue tormented the flared head.  
  
Joxer could feel himself getting ready to come. He could feel his balls tightening. The pressure kept building. Ares had his hips between his hand, not allowing Joxer to make any movement.  
  
"Ares!" Joxer wailed. "Please. I gotta come!"  
  
Ares worked his way back down and released Joxer's hips. When Joxer felt Ares hand move to his center, he started thrusting up into the hot channel that was Ares mouth.  
  
With a harsh cry he came. Ares lapped up Joxer's come and licked him clean.  
  
Joxer fell back on the bed, panting. He leaned his head up, looked down, and smiled. "Wow!"  
  
"Hey, don't forget me!" Ares laughed up at him.  
  
Ares got to his hands and knees and crawled up to where he was face to face with Joxer. They kissed for several seconds. Joxer could taste himself in Ares mouth.  
  
Joxer felt Ares' hard member against his leg. "Don't worry. I won't. Tell me what you want."  
  
"I want to be in you." Ares looked him in the eye.  
  
Joxer nodded his head, "How?"  
  
Ares thought, "Turn over. Hands and knees."  
  
He allowed Joxer to position himself.  
  
Joxer looked over his shoulder at Ares, "Well?" he shook his butt at him.  
  
Ares slapped him across playfully and laughed. He'd never felt such happiness being with someone. This felt like forever to him.  
  
He summoned some oil and poured some across Joxer's behind.  
  
Joxer jumped at the cold feeling and looked at Ares, "Hey! That's cold."  
  
Ares grinned at him, "Oops, sorry. Forgot to warm it."  
  
"Maybe I'll just go." Joxer pulled away, teasingly.  
  
"Get back here." Ares pulled Joxer's hips toward him.  
  
Ares pressed his pulsing member between Joxer's cheeks, pushing into him; but trying not to enter.  
  
Joxer started pushing back, flexing the check muscles trying to grab Ares cock between them.  
  
"Ahhh, Joxer." Ares' breathing grew heavy and jagged.  
  
"Can't wait. Now Ares." Joxer told him.  
  
"Joxer!" Ares grabbed the oil and poured some over his fingers. He rubbed Joxer's hole, circling it.  
  
Ares soon had all three fingers inside of Joxer. His lover was soon hard again, as Ares kept finding that sweet spot inside of him.  
  
Ares lubed himself and placed his head outside of Joxer's body. "Want it Joxer?" He asked.  
  
"Yes, gods yes." Joxer replied, pushing back. He felt the head enter and moaned as Ares stopped.  
  
Ares finally pushed the rest of the way in, resting his balls against Joxer. He bent over, one hand supporting his weight, the other circled Joxer's member. Ares proceeded to move in and out of Joxer's hot channel, while pulling on Joxer's cock.  
  
Joxer was overwhelmed by the feeling and soon came again. His climax triggered Ares' who pressed deeper inside of him and bit into Joxer's shoulder blade.  
  
Ares pulled out of him and pulled him into his arms. Both were very tired men.  
  
As Joxer went to sleep he heard Ares say, "I love you."  
  
The next morning, Ares woke up first. He turned his head, and saw that Joxer head was inches away from him. He leaned up and looked at his lover.  
  
The covers had fallen off of the bed, there was only a sheet on both of them. Ares looked down at the covered body. The sheet showed the outline of Joxer's naked body to perfection.  
  
Ares looked up and saw that Joxer was watching him. Joxer's pupils dilated until the irises were black. Joxer took his hand, placed it on Ares chest and pushed the war god back onto his back. Joxer put one leg on each side of Ares and looked down at him. 'My turn!'  
  
He leaned down, whispered "I love you, too." and kissed the god.  
  
Ares and Joxer's relationship only deepened as the months went by. Joxer spent most of his time now with Ares in the hall of war. He spent many days wondering the passages of the large temple. He explored each room, worked out with Ares, and visited with Aphrodite in her temple. He was soon a familiar figure on Olympus.  
  
However, there was one spot he avoided. When he entered the main hall, he was always pulled toward the eastern wall. The first time he went to it, his body grew cold and he kept shivering all day. So he found excuses to stay out of the main hall as much as possible.  
  
Zeus was concerned. He knew that Ares was destined to be with the god of peace. However, Ares growing relationship with the mortal worried him. Hopefully, Ares wouldn't ask permission to make Joxer his consort or to make him immortal. He would have to say no.  
  
Zeus wasn't aware of this but Ares had already been planning to ask his father permission to make Joxer immortal.  
  
It was five months after the first time Ares and Joxer kissed when Ares arrived in his father's study.  
  
"Father, can I talk to you?" Ares decided that storming in and making demands wouldn't get him what he wanted.  
  
Zeus had been staring out a large window into Hera's gardens below. He knew as soon as Ares had arrived what his youngest son wanted.  
  
"I can't." Zeus told him as he turned to look at him.  
  
"Do you even know what I want?" Ares crossed his arms.  
  
"Yes and for reasons I can't explain, I can't grant your Joxer immortality." Zeus said.  
  
"Can't or wont?" Ares replied.  
  
Zeus thought for a moment, "Both."  
  
"I've never asked you for anything before but this. Grant Joxer immortality." Ares asked his father.  
  
"I'm sorry. I know how you feel about him. But no." Zeus told him.  
  
"I see." Ares could feel the anger swell up inside of him, raging out of control. The winds increased and storms started covering the southern part of Greece. A small tornado ripped through several villages.  
  
Zeus felt the affects of Ares temper and sighed, 'This is getting out of hand. If you're going to show Galen, now would be there time.'  
  
Every time he got angry lately, damage was seen. Most of it has been through the weather. One time there was a small shower on Olympus. It didn't rain on Olympus. The weather gods tried putting it out, but were ineffective. They thought someone was playing a joke on them, maybe Strife, but couldn't trace the source.  
  
Only Zeus knew it was Ares. Not even Ares himself knew it came from him. Ares only watched the rain and laughed at the other gods trying to stop it.  
  
It hadn't affected his ability to control wars yet. Ares still had tight control on that. Joxer had asked Ares to drop him off in Thrace before he went to see Zeus. Joxer didn't know what Ares needed from his father. However, he could tell that Ares had been nervous most of the morning.  
  
He was browsing through the stalls when he felt strange all of a sudden. When he felt the frustration and anger Joxer froze. He didn't know what to make of it, but he knew it wasn't coming from him.  
  
'Ares!' He thought to himself.  
  
He ran back to Ares temple. When he arrived, he made his way into Ares room off to the right of the throne. He didn't see Ares there when he entered the room. "He's still on Olympus."  
  
He didn't know why, but he started talking to him like he was in the room. "Ares! What's wrong? Why are you angry? Please calm down!"  
  
The feelings only intensified. He pictured them as a whirlwind storming through Ares mind, it began hurting his head.  
  
"Ares! I need you!" Joxer yelled toward the ceiling, grasping his head between his hands. "It's hurting me! Ares!"  
  
Ares stood frozen in front of Zeus desk. He heard Joxer calling him, pleading. Without saying goodbye, he gathered his power and disappeared.  
  
Zeus just stared in the empty spot, and closed his eyes.  
  
When Ares arrived, he found Joxer on the floor.  
  
He rushed to Joxer's side and knelt beside him. He looked for a wound, but didn't see one.  
  
With a flick of his wrist both Joxer and he were in their bedroom in the hall of war.  
  
He placed Joxer on the bed. However, before he could summon Asclepius, Joxer woke up.  
  
"JOXER!" Ares sat beside him.  
  
"Ares." Joxer whispered, shutting his eyes. He reached for Ares hand. His head still hurt.  
  
Ares clasped Joxer's hand in his, and kissed the back of it. "Joxer. You worried me."  
  
"What happened?" Joxer asked.  
  
"You called me. When I got there I found you on the floor." Ares lay down beside him.  
  
"My head hurts." Joxer told him.  
  
"Let me call Asclepius. Have him check you out." Ares kissed Joxer's check, taking the pain away.  
  
"No, love, don't. It's better now." Joxer grabbed Ares biceps.  
  
"One condition. Tell me everything that happened." Ares pulled Joxer head on his shoulder.  
  
Joxer didn't really want to say what happened. He wasn't even sure he knew, but he felt Ares would force the issue. "I was in the market looking around. All of a sudden I felt strange. Then I was very frustrated and angry. I decided to come back here. When I entered the room my head start hurting bad. That's all I remember."  
  
"You felt angry and frustrated? At what and who caused it?" Ares wanted to pummel the person responsible into the ground.  
  
"Let's not talk about this. It's over." Joxer rolled on top of Ares.  
  
"No. I want to talk about it. Now answer the question." Ares looked at him. 'Why doesn't he want to answer it?'  
  
Joxer hesitated and whispered into Ares neck, "You."  
  
Ares wasn't sure he heard right. "Me?" Joxer nodded his head.  
  
Ares pushed Joxer off of him and got up from the bed.  
  
"Me? I caused it?" Ares pointed to himself. Joxer looked down, twisting the spread between his fingers.  
  
Ares looked at Joxer for several minutes with speaking. 'I hurt him! When he came with me that night, I promised to myself that I'd never hurt him. I hurt him!' Ares was stunned. He had hurt the one person he cared most about in the world. 'I don't deserve him.'  
  
Joxer was unaware of what Ares was thinking. He had pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his head on them.  
  
"I'm sorry." Joxer said, trying to take the blame.  
  
"You're sorry? Nothing is your fault here. It's mine. I hurt you and didn't even know it." Somehow he was projecting his emotions at Joxer. Ares didn't approach him. 'It could happen again. Has it ever happened before?'  
  
He had to ask, "Has it happened before?"  
  
Joxer didn't answer.  
  
"It has." Ares sat down on the other side of the bed with his back to Joxer. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"It never got that bad before. Other times it just intense. Good emotions, like when we make love. Once or twice I've felt your anger. But it was gone to quickly." Joxer crawl to Ares and tried to take him in his arms.  
  
Ares jerked away and Joxer was startled at the rejection.  
  
"You need to leave. You can't stay here any more." Ares began making plans to get Joxer out of the way or the next time Ares got as angry as he was at Zeus today he could unintentionally kill Joxer.  
  
"NO! I'm not leaving. Not over this." Joxer protested.  
  
"Yes, you will. Even if I have to bar you from here myself." Ares snarled at him.  
  
Joxer got up from the bed, walked around to face Ares, looked him in the face and yelled, "NO!"  
  
Ares just stared at him and narrowed his eyes. Seconds later, Joxer found himself and his packs in a room at an inn in Thrace.  
  
"ARES! GET BACK HERE!" Joxer waited for his lover to show up.  
  
"Ares?" He didn't receive an answer. He sat down on the bed stunned.  
  
For the next two months Joxer wandered around lost in a haze. He forgot to eat and sleep. He hadn't bathed in the two months since Ares left him. Xena and Gabrielle found him sitting on the ground staring at nothing.  
  
"Joxer?" Gabby touched his arm and quickly backed away. She waved her hand in front of her nose.  
  
"Joxer?" Xena said.  
  
They looked at each other when he didn't reply. They each grabbed an arm and pulled him toward the river. Xena sent Gabrielle to the nearest town for more supplies.  
  
When Gabby left Xena stripped Joxer and put him in the river. She waited for him to start bathing, but all he did was stand there. Pulling off her outer garment, she picked up the rag and soap and bathed him.  
  
"If you ever tell anyone I did this, I'll kill you." Xena told him as she scrubbed him clean.  
  
Once she was sure he was cleaned, she threw him over her shoulder and carried him to the fire.  
  
Gabby was already back and was fixing dinner when she saw Xena and Joxer. With her eyes wide, she rose from the fire. "Xena? What did you do?"  
  
Xena frowned at her and just shrugged her shoulders. "All he did was stand in the water. Didn't move a muscle."  
  
"So you gave him a bath?" She helped Xena dry and dress him.

  
"He didn't even blink." Xena was concerned. She didn't like the way they had parted the year before. She should have never had made him choose.  
  
Gabby pushed a tin cup with some broth into his hand finally getting him to sip it. She had filled it twice when he spoke.  
  
"Ares left me." Joxer mumbled. "You were right. He wanted something from me. When he got it, he left me. He never really loved me."  
  
Gabby and Xena looked at him. They could feel his heart breaking. Gabby got up and sat beside him. She put an arm around him and pulled him to her shoulder.  
  
Ares tried to forget about Joxer. He went about his normal duties and accepted more. He worked all day and most way through the night. Others tried talking to him but where unsuccessful. He ignored them.  
  
He reminded himself to eat and whenever he caught himself summoning a mirror to watch Joxer, he forced himself to stop. It was only at night that he couldn't control his actions. He fell into bed exhausted, only to wake up early in the morning before he normally woke. He dreamed constantly of Joxer. Waking up hard, sometimes wet from where he came in his sleep.  
  
Zeus was the only one that didn't approach him. He felt responsible. He was also relieved that Ares had ended it with Joxer.  
  
Aphrodite decided it was time to interfere. As the goddess of love, she knew that Ares had been in love and something caused it to end. She tried talking to Joxer, only he wasn't talking either. She could tell he was hurting too. However, Joxer only wanted to talk to Ares. She tried taking Joxer to him, but when she summoned her power, only she disappeared. She couldn't carry Joxer there. Ares had built a shield to block him out.  
  
'Enough is enough already!' Dite thought to herself. Aphrodite went to the one person who seemed equally concerned.  
  
"Hera, something has to be done about Ares." Aphrodite found his mother in her garden.  
  
Hera paused from clipping her roses when she heard the voice behind her. "Aphrodite?" She turned around to see the goddess of love.  
  
"I know you don't like me, and, well I don't like you that much either. But something is wrong with Ares. He needs us." She laid it on straight to the goddess of marriage.  
  
Hera stared at the goddess before her. She put her clippers down and motioned for Aphrodite to follow her toward a table under a tree.  
  
"I've tried to talk to Ares. He's not budging. All he said was that he hurt Joxer once and he wasn't going to take a chance and it again." Hera summoned a pot of tea.  
  
"What about offering Joxer immortality?" Dite asked.  
  
"Ares asked Zeus' permission and Zeus absolutely forbid it." Hera said. She had thought it strange at the time and still did.  
  
Dite blinked her eyes and looked puzzled. "Why would Zeus do something like that?"  
  
"Ares couldn't get an answer out of him. I thought about sneaking an apple to Joxer once, but Zeus found out. He raged for days." Hera said into her cup.  
  
"Tell me. What did you think of Joxer?" Dite was curious.  
  
"Joxer? He's good for Ares. He provided something to Ares that was missing. Oh, he was still good at his job. He even got better at it. Once I asked Ares and Joxer over to dinner one night. Ares became angry at something. Joxer just rubbed Ares arm and he calmed down immediately." Hera was still amazed at how Joxer did that. Her son had always been volatile.  
  
Dite and Hera sat in silence for a minute contemplating the unusual relationship that Ares had developed with the mortal.  
  
"There's more here than we know. Zeus knows something but he's not saying." Hera said.  
  
"Maybe the Fates" Dite began.  
  
Hera looked at her in amazement. "I hadn't even thought about asking them."  
  
"Well then, let's go!" Dite said, happy to finally be doing something. It broke her heart to see Ares and Joxer so miserable without each other.  
  
Hera and Aphrodite appeared before the Fates. They were working on a large tapestry depicting Greece.  
  
They said as one, "What can we do for you?"  
  
Hera began explaining the situation to them. The three ladies looked at each other before turning toward the queen of the gods.  
  
"We cannot answer your questions." Lachesis replied.  
  
"Why not?" Dite stomped her foot. "Ares and Joxer are miserable. They're depressing me so much I can't work. If no one falls in love no one will get married. So that affects Hera too. The whole system is starting to break down!" she threw her arms wide.  
  
"Dite you're exaggerating!" Clotho looked at her funny.  
  
"Am I?" She looked over at Hera. "How many weddings were you asked to bless the past couple of months?"  
  
Hera reflected on her schedule. She had a lot of free time lately. "It's decreased. There have been fewer marriages."  
  
"See!" Dite said triumphantly.  
  
The three Fates thought to each other considering.  
  
*Maybe a hint?*  
  
*To ease their minds?*  
  
*Maybe light the way?*  
  
*The lost god will be returning soon. We predicted his return at their birth.*  
  
Atropos looked at the two other goddesses in the room. "There is a destiny waiting to be re-born. It is not ready yet."  
  
"But soon will be." Clotho finished.  
  
"So something is happening?" Hera asked.  
  
"We cannot say more. Only be comforted, all will be right." Lachesis waved her hand and Dite and Hera disappeared.  
  
They reappeared in the garden.  
  
Dite hugged her arms. "Well that was a waste of time."  
  
"No it wasn't. I actually feel better." Hera looked at her.  
  
"Why? So something is going on. We knew that much." Dite started walking down a path.  
  
"It'll get better. Soon." Hera followed her. They walked the circled pathway together.  
  
When they reached the beginning. Dite said, "This is a lot to think about."  
  
They said their good-byes and each went their way.  
  
Through his window overlooking the gardens, Zeus had been watching the two woman since they arrived.  
  
Joxer had recovered since Xena and Gabrielle found him. He started talking more and paid attention to what was going on around him. When Hercules and Iolaus joined the group again, he decided to leave. The demi-god only reminded him of what he had lost. Ares loved tormenting his brother.  
  
He had been traveling by himself for a few months when he decided it was time to pay a visit the old cave where he had hidden his portion of his inheritance. Since he had been with Ares, he hadn't had to worry about money. Ares even left a coin purse with him when Ares broke up with him.  
  
He and Jett rented out the house and surrounding lands to a family of farmers, so whenever he was in the area he slept in the cave. He was swimming in the river not far from the cave when a sudden rainstorm popped up. He ran toward the cave's shelter.  
  
He built up the small fire to ward off the chill. He woke up around midnight to put more wood to the flame when a piercing pain stabbed his head. He fell sideways unconscious.  
  
It was late at night in the small prison town where Jett was incarcerated for attempting to assassinate the Queen of Egypt. A figure was climbing over the wall of the prison when an alarm sounded.  
  
"PRISON BREAK! A PRISONER HAS ESCAPED!" One of the guards called out. Another guard started striking the bell signaling the attempt.  
  
Guards ran out of the barracks and quickly mounted the parapet. One guard spotted the figure on the other side of the wall. He quickly armed his bow, and shot an arrow toward the escapee.  
  
The arrow hit its mark. Right in the back, through the chest cavity and heart. The now dead escapee fell forward onto his face.  
  
The Captain of the prison guard approached the body with his sword drawn. With the edge of the blade, he turned over the body.  
  
"Get the warden! I'd better let him know that the assassin Jett tried to escape. He's dead now." The captain told his lieutenant.  
  
They turned away from Jett's body for a minute so they didn't notice the blue glow surround it and fade away. On Olympus, a must larger crack appeared in the portal.  
  
The first thing that Joxer noticed when he woke up the next morning was that the fire was out; and his body ached. He slowly stood up and stretched his long body.  
  
'I feel so old all of a sudden.' He thought to himself. He bent over, stretching out his back. When he started to rise, he suddenly stopped. Back in the cave was a light. Another light, just like the last time when he found the sword point.  
  
He also remembered the last time he saw that glow his brother Jayce had died. "No. Not again!" Joxer said aloud.  
  
He finished rising and walked toward the glow. He wasn't surprised to find another sword piece lying in the dirt.  
  
He reached down to pick up the piece of metal. This time it seemed to be the middle. He looked at each of the jagged ends for a second and went to get the other piece he found 16 years earlier. He looked at both pieces in each hand and fitted them together.  
  
The ends fit perfectly. He looked around for something to tie they together. When he spotted a piece of rope he started to go get it. That's when he noticed that the pieces didn't come apart. They had fused together.  
  
He tried finding the seam. There wasn't one.  
  
He held it out by the other end, 'It's missing one piece now. It only needs the hilt. Xena was right, the gods made it. Wonder whose it was?'  
  
He quickly put it in his pack, it wouldn't fit in its normal hiding place, and decided to see what happened to Jett. Then find Dite. She'd been checking up on him lately. She'd help him.  
  
He made sure the fire was completely out, picked up some coins, his packs and hurried out of the cave.  
  
Two days later when he reached the prison to visit his brother the warden informed him of the break out and that Jett was been killed trying to escape. Joxer went to the goddess of love's temple where he prayed hard to get her attention.  
  
The crack was now a fissure and grew larger everyday. It was about two days after Jett died that Ares noticed it. He had been sitting on this throne, with a leg tossed over an arm brooding. He wanted so badly to see Joxer. He seriously thought about giving in and summoning a mirror to see his lover when he looked toward the east. He saw a light out of corner of his eye.  
  
"What the?" Ares sat up in this chair. His eyes grew wide at the site of the fissure growing.  
  
It was about 12 inches wide and 36 inches high when it stopped.  
  
He circled the strange thing that suddenly appeared in his main hall. He was stroking his beard with one hand pondering it.  
  
He reached out a hand and touch it. It was smooth and very cool to the touch. 'Marble.' He leaned to take a closer look and noticed etchings.  
  
'Those look familiar. Where have I seen it before?' He knew that somewhere in his hall he'd seen the etchings.  
  
He glances around the main hall and his eyes stopped on the main entrance. Around the arch were etchings. He looked back at the fissure.  
  
"It's an arch." Ares told himself aloud. "Guess I need to call Zeus."  
  
Ares was still very angry at Zeus. He blamed him about Joxer and tended to avoid he whenever he could.  
  
*Zeus, can I see you in my temple? There's something you need to see.* Ares requested.  
  
Zeus heard his son's call while he was going through some petitions from the other gods. Hera, who indeed hadn't been very busy lately, was assisting him by reading them first and making small notes on them.  
  
"Ares just asked for me." Zeus said looking up at his wife. Ares hadn't asked to see him in months.  
  
"Did he say why?" Hera was secretly glad that Ares had called his father.  
  
"Evidently, there is something I need to see." Zeus let out a small smile. "Join me?" He asked, holding out his hand.  
  
"I'd be pleased." Hera said accepting it.  
  
Zeus expanded his power and both appeared before Ares.  
  
"Father." Was all Ares said. He gave his mother a small peck on the cheek. "Mother, glad you could come."  
  
"Well Ares. What's this I need to see?" Zeus asked.  
  
"Could you tell me why a door is appearing in my hall?" Pointing to the door on the eastern wall. The arch was much larger then before. Ares had watched it grow while waiting for Zeus to arrive.  
  
Both Hera and Zeus turned toward the east. The small group of gods stared at the doorway.  
  
Hera looked at her son and questioned, "What...?"  
  
"I don't know. It suddenly appeared and it looks like it belongs here. The etching match those around the room." Ares told her. He was watching Zeus face pale. 'So the old buzzard knows something.'  
  
"Dad, do you know what this is?" Ares asked him, pointing up and down the arch.  
  
"It's a portal." Zeus told them. He realized he couldn't keep this a secret any longer.  
  
"To where?" Ares looked at his mother and father.  
  
"Ares, I didn't know what would happen when I killed her. I promise. I didn't realize what would happen." Zeus began.  
  
"Kill who?" Ares asked his father.  
  
"Serenity." Zeus told them.  
  
Hera asked, "Who's Serenity?"  
  
"Do you remember Enualios?" Zeus looked at his wife of many years.  
  
"Enualios was the god of war before Ares. You defeated him when you fought Cronus." Hera told him.  
  
Ares was shocked. "WHAT? There was another god of war?" Ares asked. He couldn't believe he hadn't known about it.  
  
"Yes, you are the second. Enualios was the war god before I became king of the gods. When I challenged my father for power. He fought for Cronus. I killed him. I also killed Serenity at the same time." Zeus grew very tired.  
  
"That still doesn't tell us who she is and what the portal has to do with her." Ares said.  
  
"She was the goddess of peace and the portal is a doorway into the Hall of Peace." Zeus replied.  
  
Another moment of silence, "Dear, there has never been a goddess of peace." Hera put an arm around her husband.  
  
"Ares remembers her. He's seen her." Zeus looked at his son.  
  
"When? I'm sure I'd remember such a creature. She's everything I oppose." Ares said testily. If this goddess was trying to take over in his temple, he'd blast her back where she came from.  
  
"Twenty six years ago you started having nightmares. Remember the wars back then. How bad it was. The dreams caused them." Zeus explained.  
  
Ares tried to remember back then, but everything was pretty hazy. Suddenly he had a vision of green eyes. "Her eyes, they were green."  
  
"Yes, that's Serenity. She and Enualios were consorts for a thousand years. They were linked together. Without one, the other couldn't exist in the world. Serenity's last act was to deny peace to the Olympian gods. So she hid the Sword of Peace and sealed the portal." Zeus said.  
  
"I should start at the beginning.." Zeus then told them everything about that earlier war with the Titans and Serenity's promise.  
  
While Zeus told them the story of Serenity and Enualios, Dite had arrived. She had been surprised to hear his prayer. "Joxie! How are you?"  
  
"Aphrodite, I need to see Hephaestus. Can you take me to him?" He asked immediately.  
  
"Sure Joxer. What's wrong?" Dite asked him.  
  
Instead of answering, he asked, "Can we go now?"  
  
She walked over to Joxer and laid a hand on his arm. When she touched him, she grew dizzy.  
  
Before she fell, Joxer caught her. "Dite?"  
  
"I'm all right. Just grew light headed there." She had been rubbing her forehead. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. She suddenly felt like everything was going to be okay. For the first time in months, years even, she felt that everything was as it should be.  
  
"Weird." She shrugged off the feeling. "Okay, lets go."  
  
They arrived at Hephaestus forge and watched the god of fire. He was in the process of working a piece of metal for a hero's sword. Dite learned years ago, to wait for the right moment to speak. Heppie hated it when the metal process was interrupted.  
  
Joxer was growing impatient. But soon Hephaestus was finished and doused the sword with water.  
  
"Aphrodite, love." He went over to her and kissed her. "Joxer, long time no see."  
  
"Hephaestus. I needed to see you so I asked Dite to bring me." Joxer began.  
  
Hephaestus went to get them a drink, but he motioned for Joxer to continue.  
  
"I found this a few days ago. It seems important, it glowed." Joxer unwrapped the blade and held it out to the god. "I thought you might know something about it."  
  
Hephaestus looked at the fine steel before taking it. He examined the craftwork on the blade and Dite went over to look at it. "Where did you find it?" Hephaestus looked up, puzzled.  
  
"In a cave not far from where I grew up." Joxer told him.  
  
"I made this. It's my work." Hephaestus said.  
  
"What can you tell me about it?" Joxer asked him.  
  
"Well there is a slight problem. I don't remember making it." Hephaestus took the blade over to the kiln where it was lighter.  
  
Dite asked, "You made it, but don't remember it?"  
  
"Yes, it looks like it was made about the same time as Ares' sword." He looked at the carvings running down the middle. For some reason he saw this blade and the Sword of War together. He easily pictured the two together and knew that they fit. He didn't want to say anything, but he needed to look at Ares sword.  
  
"Come on. We need to see Ares." Hephaestus prepared to zap them out when Dite stopped him.  
  
"No can do, love bunny. Joxer here is barred from the hall. I tried for hours to get him in one day, but Ares built up a barrier." Dite looked over at Joxer and saw the pain in his eyes.  
  
Hephaestus looked at Joxer also. "Maybe both of us?"  
  
Each one of the gods took one of Joxer's arms. When Hephaestus touched him, he felt the same thing that Dite had earlier.  
  
This time they made it into the hall of war with Joxer there.  
  
Ares and Hera were stunned. Zeus had just finished the story of Serenity and Enualios. "Dad. What were you going to do to Galen?"  
  
"I wasn't thinking clearly, but if Serenity had transferred her powers to her son. I probably would have killed him to get the sword. I was power hungry back then. I wanted to control everything. Believe me I have learned my lesson. She made sure of that. I'm the only one that remembers what the times were like back then." Zeus told them.  
  
"So you think the dreams triggered the door opening." Ares looked toward the portal.  
  
"It must be. Serenity said that War must call Peace. Twenty-seven years ago, you called for him. He's starting to arrive. Only the process hasn't been completed yet, as evidenced by the door being incomplete. If he was here, the door would open." Zeus told him.  
  
They were interrupted by the arrival of Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Joxer.  
  
The other four gods faded away as Ares and Joxer looked at one another. Ares closed his eyes, "Joxer, you shouldn't be here." When he opened them back up he looked at his lover with longing.  
  
"I know that you don't love me anymore. But I needed to see Hephaestus. They brought me." Joxer said.  
  
Ares heard the pain in Joxer's voice. 'Not love you? Joxer if you only knew.' Ares thought.  
  
Dite threw her hands up in disgust and walked away. "I give up. I'm not the goddess of love anymore. I'm tired of dealing with these two."  
  
Hephaestus said to Ares, "Ares, can I take a look at your sword for a minute?"  
  
Ares didn't trust anyone with his sword, but he knew at Hephaestus had made it so he called it to him.  
  
Hephaestus let out a yelp when the sword appeared. The one he had shocked him. He felt the energy from it burn into his skin and he released it. All six watched in wonder as the broken blade and the Sword of War danced around each other. When they couldn't unite after being apart for 2000 years, both fell to the floor with a clatter.  
  
"What the? Hephaestus, what was that?" Ares walked over and picked up his sword.  
  
Hephaestus had turned to look at Joxer. Joxer just shook his head at him and shrugged.  
  
Zeus was staring down at the piece of metal. "Serenity what did you do?"  
  
"Zeus?" Hera laid touched his shoulder.  
  
Zeus looked up at her, his eyes tearing. "That is the Sword of Peace."  
  
The three looked down at the broken sword.  
  
"Serenity broke it? Why?" Ares asked.  
  
"Guys, who is Serenity and what's Sword of Peace?" Dite wanted to know.  
  
Hera caught them up on what they knew.  
  
"So I made both swords and when Serenity died, she destroyed hers." Hephaestus asked, thinking, 'and how am I going to fix this it when I can't even remember how I made it?"  
  
Joxer joined the group and picked up his blade.  
  
Zeus demanded, "Joxer, give it here." He held out his hand.  
  
Joxer felt the compulsion to hand over the blade, but something inside of him screamed *No, don't give Zeus the sword! He can't have it.*  
  
Joxer looked down at the shining blade and saw his reflection in the metal. He looked at Zeus and said, "No." Breaking the compulsion Zeus had over him.  
  
"Joxer! That belongs to the gods." Zeus demanded the sword again.  
  
"No. It's mine. I found it." Joxer backed away from Zeus.  
  
The others were watching the confrontation between the mortal and the king of the gods.  
  
"Ares! Do something!" Hera started saying.  
  
"Ares, touch Joxer." Aphrodite whispered to him. Remembering the feeling she and Hephaestus had when they touched him earlier.  
  
Ares grew angry when his father started advancing on Joxer. He went to stand behind Joxer, ready to fight his father if need be. Joxer didn't know it, but soon he walked right into Ares.  
  
He started and turned around. Ares touched both his arms to steady him and stared down at Joxer. Ares felt the charge run through Joxer and into him. Everything clicked into place for the war god. Joxer grew extremely dizzy.  
  
There was a clatter on the marble floor a few feet away. It drew Hephaestus attention. He walked over to the object that had fallen.  
  
'A sword hilt,' Hephaestus grinned, 'and unless I'm mistaken this hilt fits that broken blade.' He bent down and picked it up.  
  
He carried it over to Ares and Joxer. "I believe this is yours."  
  
Ares took the hilt and held it in his hands. "What's going on?"  
  
Zeus was wondering the same thing. "The sword hilt. How did it get here?" Suddenly he wanted to know one thing. "Joxer you said that the blade was yours. When did you get it?"  
  
Joxer stepped away from Ares and looked around the room. The others were looking at him. He was suddenly very nervous. Hera sensing his nervousness reached out to hug him, offering comfort. She to felt the jolt. When the queen of the gods released him she stepped away staring into space.  
  
"I found the first piece when I was ten." Joxer began.  
  
"First piece?" Ares asked.  
  
"Oh, the blade was originally two pieces. Remember when I told you Jayce died. Well I found the first piece, the point, that same day. Jett died four days ago and I found the second piece. I put them together and they fused." Joxer told them.  
  
'Three pieces of the sword, three identical brothers.' Zeus thought.  
  
"Joxer, put the sword together." Zeus told him, trying to confirm his suspicions. Joxer looked at Ares for guidance. Ares nodded and handed out the hilt.  
  
Joxer took the sword hilt. "Maybe one of you should try it first." Holding out both pieces.  
  
Hephaestus stepped up and took both. He tried fitting them together. The seams matched, but they wouldn't fuse. "It's not working." Handing the pieces back.  
  
"Go ahead Joxer." Dite encouraged him.  
  
Joxer took the two pieces and put them together. There was a loud popping sound in the hall and everyone looked toward the portal. It had opened and a rush of wind came from it. They looked back at Joxer. He held the complete sword in one hand. It had fused back together.  
  
Zeus started laughing. "No wonder I couldn't find Galen or the sword. Serenity spilt them up into three pieces. I kept looking for the whole."  
  
Joxer released the Sword of Peace. The sword hovered in the air of Olympus for the first time in 2,000 years.  
  
Ares looked at his lover. He knew what Zeus was saying. Galen had always been his destiny, that was why Zeus opposed Ares relationship with Joxer, and all this time Joxer had been Galen. He wasn't sure how or why.  
  
Ares released his sword.  
  
Everyone again watched as the swords danced around each other in a bright blue light. Finally the dance ended and one sword hung in the air. Together again.  
   
  
Epilogue  
  
When the sword dance ended, Zeus clapped his hands and motioned toward the door. "Galen. It's your temple. Go in."  
  
Joxer/Galen was uncertain though. When Ares had touched him, he felt a great pressure in his mind and thousands of images from 1,500 years worth of lives ran around his head. 'I'm a god? I can't be. But how do I explain this?" He looked at the sword before him.  
  
Not looking at Zeus, he said, "I'm used to being called Joxer. Can we keep it at that?"  
  
"It's your name." Hera rushed to reassure him.  
  
"You'll always be Joxer to me. Galen can be your official name, Joxer a family name." Ares told him.  
  
"So does this mean we're together again. You're not going to force me to leave like you did last time?" Joxer asked him.  
  
"Joxer, it was for your protection. My anger was hurting you. I had asked Zeus to grant you immortality but he said no. I wouldn't take the chance that I would hurt you badly." Ares said.  
  
Joxer shook his head, "Let's not talk about this now. Later, when we are alone."  
  
Ares held out his hand toward Joxer, "Joxer?"  
  
Joxer thought for a minute and looked toward the sword. He reached out and took Ares hand.  
  
"It'll be okay, promise." Joxer tried sending out a feeling of reassurance to the war god. *Love you.*  
  
He watched as the worry cleared from Ares face. "Hey it worked!" the delight evident on his face.  
  
"What worked?" Dite asked.  
  
"I tried sending out something to Ares. He received it." Joxer hugged his god, who gathered him close to his heart.  
  
"So can we go in?" Hephaestus was curious to see what was on the other side of the door.  
  
"Sure, I guess so." Joxer looked at everyone.  
  
Zeus whistled, remembering what he had done to the temple so long ago. "Joxer, you might find a bit of damage in there. I practically tore the place apart looking for the sword."  
  
"And you'll fix it." Joxer told him. Ares and Hera would stand behind him on this one.  
  
Ares called his Sword back to him and the Swords of Peace and War broke apart. He handed Joxer his sword back and put his away.  
  
"You're going to have to show me how to do that." Joxer told him.  
  
"Let me?" Ares held out his hand. Joxer, with complete trust, gave the symbol of his godhood to another god. Ares put it safely away with his sword.  
  
Hephaestus was impressed with himself. 'Sure wish I could remember how I made those.'  
  
Joxer and Ares walked up to the door. Ares wasn't sure what would happen and he didn't want to let Joxer enter unknown territory alone, but he felt that the peace god should enter first. It was his homecoming.  
  
"Joxer before we go in, maybe you should touch Zeus." Hera recommended. "It might block him from going in. No telling what traps Serenity set for him."  
  
Joxer considered Ares' father. He went up to him and stood in front of him. "Tell me why?"  
  
Zeus looked at the son of his old enemy. "Galen. I mean Joxer, I don't have any excuses. Only know that I love my son and I would do anything for him. It hurt not granting his request. But it would hurt him even more if you hadn't turned out to be Galen and when Galen did show up, he had to leave you. Believe me, because he would have had it. It was the things were meant to be. Even the Fates decreed it so."  
  
Joxer reached out and touched Zeus on the shoulder.  
  
Zeus felt the power go through him. He felt serenity and calmness for the first time in millennia.

"Let's go in Uncle." Joxer told him.

Joxer walked through the door first, then Ares. Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, and then Hephaestus entered.  
  
Everyone froze.  
  
"By the gods." Joxer whispered.  
  
"You got that right." Ares replied.  
  
"It's an exact duplicate of the hall of war." Hera said.  
  
"Down to the last stone." Hephaestus looked around.  
  
Dite went over to the windows. "Hey, there's my temple!"  
  
"I was always amazed by this place. It didn't matter which hall you were in, you were still on Olympus and get to anywhere. It was all a matter of perception." Zeus told them.  
  
The six gods and goddesses explored the hall for a couple of hours. Finally, as evening approached the others started leaving through the front entrance of the hall of peace.  
  
Only Ares, Zeus, and Joxer remained. Zeus was going over what he remembered about the two godly positions and how Enualios and Serenity had worked together.  
  
The next day a large gathering of the pantheon was planned to introduce Joxer/Galen and formally unite the two gods for eternity.  
  
The first thing that Joxer wanted to do the next day was let Xena and Gabrielle know that he and Ares were back together. After all, he reasoned with Ares, without them they were responsible for getting them together. Only the fates knew how long it might have taken otherwise. Plus they were there for him when Ares had left him.  
  
Xena, Gabrielle, Hercules, and Iolaus were spending a few quite days beside a lake before they going their separate ways. They had spent the last week defending a small village against marauders. They needed time to recover.  
  
Xena was fishing in the lake; knee deep and tossing fish on the shore. Gabrielle was washing their bedrolls and mending what clothes they had. Hercules and Iolaus were out collecting more firewood for the day.  
  
Joxer, after a quick lesson in teleportation from Ares, arrived near at the edge of the lake. "Xena! Gabrielle! You'd never guess!"  
  
Both looked up from their chores with a startled expression.

  
"Joxer? Where did you come from? I didn't hear you come in." Xena inquired. She looked toward the piles of fish and decided that that was enough.  
  
"Oh, nowhere really." Joxer grinned at them. "Guess?"  
  
Gabrielle looked at the happy, smiling face before her and hazarded a guess. She hadn't seen him this happy in months. "Ares?"  
  
"Right! Dite and Hephaestus managed to get me into the hall of war yesterday. He loves me!" Joxer hugged Gabrielle.  
  
"We're happy for you Joxer. Really." Xena smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. 'Maybe he'd mellow out the war god. Hum, strange.' She shook her hand as she removed it.  
  
Hercules and Iolaus had been watching the trio as they entered the cove with the wood.  
  
'Dite? He calls Aphrodite by a nickname?' Hercules thought to himself.  
  
"Hey Joxer!" Iolaus called out to Joxer.  
  
"Hercules! Iolaus!" Joxer stepped away from Gabrielle, who was looking a little dazed, and looked toward his soon to be brother-in-law and cousin.  
  
"So Ares took you back? Don't you know you're asking for trouble getting hooked up with him?" Hercules threw the wood down near the fire.  
  
'If only he knew!' Joxer thought to himself, remembering the night before. 'Oh wait, he can know.'  
  
"Yep, the best kind of trouble." Joxer laughed aloud. "But don't worry, I can handle him."  
  
A loud snort was heard before Ares made his appearance. "Handle me? So you think you can handle me?"  
  
"Don't you know it!" Joxer walked over to his mate and kissed him on the check.

  
"Not in front of the mortals." Ares pushed him away. Xena saw a tinge of pink flush Ares face.  
  
"Not even your brother?" Joxer teased.  
  
"Especially not him!" Ares frowned.  
  
Only, Joxer could see the laughter in his eyes. 'So he want's to play.'  
  
The other four were watching the by-play wondering what was going on. Hercules looked like he was getting ready to throw up his breakfast at the look Joxer was tossing Ares. Gabrielle looked at the couple and smiled. Iolaus did not have a clue what was happening.  
  
Xena was holding in the laughter at the looks of disgust Hercules was throwing towards Ares and Joxer. She knew how bad Joxer had it for Ares. She had been there after the break up and she didn't ever want to see that look of anguish again. Now, it looked like Ares just might return his feelings.  
  
"Hercules. Even I can see they love each other." Xena watched as the calculating looked entered his eyes.  
  
"Ares love anyone? I don't think so. He's up to something." Hercules said aloud. He didn't care if his half-brother heard or not.  
  
"Oh, I'm definitely up to something." Ares smirked at his brother.  
  
"So you admit it! You're just using Joxer." Hercules triumphed.  
  
"Oh yes! I'm using him. Day and night; in bed, on the floor, my throne, the baths, anywhere I can get to him." Ares snarled.  
  
Iolaus, who was getting a clue, laughed. "That's good!"  
  
Hercules shoved his best friend. "Be quite."  
  
Joxer decided it might be time to ask his friends a question before violence erupted. 'After all, I'm the god of peace. Better get to it before Hercules blows.'  
  
Joxer asked his two friends, "Xena, Gabrielle. There's a celebration this evening and I wondered if you could come?"  
  
"Celebration? For what?" Gabrielle asked. She liked parties.  
  
Ares hushed his lover before Joxer could answer. He still wanted to play with Hercules. "A new god is on Olympus; or, rather an old one has returned. A Titan."  
  
Hercules grew tense at the thought of a new player on Olympus. "Great another one to cause trouble. A Titan no less."  
  
"Hercules, you'll never beat this one. Galen will win against you anytime." Ares grinned sardonically at them.  
  
"Galen? Who's Galen?" Iolaus asked for the four.  
  
"Galen is the god of peace." Ares told them.  
  
"God of peace? There has never been a god of peace in the history of Olympus." Hercules sneered, but he had to admit (just to himself) that Ares was right. He'd never win against a peace god. It's what he himself fought for.  
  
Joxer spoke up. "There were actually two gods of peace. The goddess Serenity and her son Galen."  
  
Joxer told them the story that Zeus related to them yesterday. Only he left out an important part.  
  
"Married? The gods of war and peace were married to each other? How'd that happened." Hercules was astounded by what he heard. War and Peace living together, sharing the same house. It seemed to strange.  
  
"The two positions are necessary for each other. Remember what Joxer said, when War died, Peace died with him." Ares told them. The fun was over. He managed to push a few of Hercules buttons and was quite pleased with himself.  
  
"So Ares? You're marrying this Galen god?" Gabrielle cast an anxious look at Joxer. She was puzzled. He didn't seem be bothered by this at all.  
  
Xena was also concerned. However, she felt that there was something else Joxer was going to say. "Joxer, is there anything you want to say?"  
  
Joxer looked toward the female warrior. *Since she fights for peace so much, does that make her mine?* he sent the thought to Ares. He didn't really want the arrogant demi-god.  
  
Ares grew quite at the question. *Yours? I guess so.*  
  
*So you would have to leave her alone?* Joxer asked.  
  
*I'm always going to want her back. But for you, I'll leave her alone.* Ares told him. He knew that Joxer would need to start gaining supporters and followers.  
  
"Yes, there was. I also wanted to invite you to my wedding this evening. Ares and I are getting married." Joxer requested. He leaned back into Ares chest and waited for his words to sink in.  
  
"You're getting married to Ares? But Ares is supposed to get married to Galen." Iolaus stated.  
  
Xena, Gabrielle, and Hercules grew quite as they realized what Joxer had implied. 'He's marrying Ares. Ares is supposed to marry Galen. Joxer IS Galen!'  
  
Gabrielle yelled out, "You're a god?"  
  
Looking sheepishly down at the ground, Joxer nodded. "When Mother died over 2,000 years ago she split my 'essence' into three directions. My last lives as a mortal ended 27 years ago. They died at the same time. When that happened the three pieces became me, Jett, and Jayce. When Jayce died, his essence entered Jett's and mine. When Jett died, I received his. Until finally all the pieces were together. It didn't click into place for me until Ares touched me yesterday. It ignited the spark so to speak."  
  
Hercules and Iolaus were shocked to find out that Joxer had always been a god. A god of peace who had fought for Ares for over 10 years.  
  
Gabrielle and Xena were honored to be invited to Joxer's wedding. The two women remembered how they treated him sometimes, but it seemed Joxer really forgave them by inviting them to his wedding.  
  
Hercules and Xena had both discussed the situation at great length throughout the day. Ares had relented and said that it was okay to invite his brother and his friend. It took a lot of persuasion from Zeus and Joxer before he changed his mind though.  
  
That night, at the reception, they told Ares that they were happy that there was someone around that could control the volatile god of war. Maybe there'd be fewer wars. Ares just laughed when he heard that and said, "Don't count much on it! Some wars are for a higher purpose, but many are started by mortals."  
  
Before Hercules could retort, Joxer approached him from behind and his hand brushed Hercules arm. Ares could see the look of confusion that crossed his brother's face.  
  
He looked at his husband, *Why in Tartarus did you do that? I had him going again.*  
  
Joxer stepped into Ares arms, looked deep into his eyes and replied, *Because I could and I want you concentrating on me.*  
  
Xena was watching the two gods and nodded her head. She looked for her best friend, spotted her talking to Aphrodite and walked to them.  
   
  
The End

**Author's Note:**

> This story was posted to Ares/Joxer fansites ages ago and I'm not even sure that it's available anywhere. After the Bascon 2011, I decided to drag it out of storage and re-post it.


End file.
